1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to seats for commercial cars, such as van-type motor vehicles, and more particularly, to seat assemblies of a type which is equipped with both a seat slide mechanism by which the seat proper can slide between front and rear given latched positions and a seat cushion folding mechanism by which the seat cushion can pivot between horizontal and upright latched positions. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a safety mechanism employed in such seat assemblies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In van-type motor vehicles or the like, slidable and foldable seats are widely used as a rear seat. In fact, when the associated vehicle is intended to be used as a luggage carrying car, the seat cushion is folded up and the seat assembly is slid forward to a front latched position. With this, a luggage carrying space defined at a rear space of the vehicle cabin is increased. When the vehicle is intended to be used just as a passenger car, the seat assembly is moved back to a rear latched position and the seat cushion is pivoted down to its horizontal operative position.
One of the conventional seat assemblies of such type comprises generally two lower rails secured to a vehicle floor, two upper rails slidably engaged with the lower rails and having mounted thereon a seat proper, a seat cushion latching mechanism for latching the seat cushion at both the horizontal and folded-up positions, a seat slide latching mechanism for achieving a latched engagement between the upper and lower rails at front and rear given positions and a latch cancelling mechanism for cancelling the latched engagement between the upper and lower rails.
However, due to its inherent construction, the seat assembly of this type has the following drawback.
That is, when the latch cancelling mechanism is incidentally touched or actuated by a person who is manipulating the seat cushion latching mechanism for changing the angular position of the seat cushion, unexpected sliding of the seat assembly tends to occur. This is dangerous or at least uncomfortable.